Wood-Related Open-Globe Injuries

This work evaluates the clinical characteristics, visual outcomes, and complications of patients treated for open-globe injuries (OGIs) caused by wooden objects.

A retrospective review of medical records was conducted on patients presenting to a tertiary trauma center with an OGI between January 2005 and December 2017. Medical records were isolated for wounds caused by wooden objects. Patient demographics were recorded, with presenting visual acuity (VA), physical examination findings, and wound characteristics. After primary globe repair, secondary complications, need for additional surgery, and visual outcomes were noted until final examination. Main outcome measures were final VA and secondary complications. The Ocular Trauma Score (OTS) was computed and assessed for clinical relevance related to visual outcomes.

Thirty-two patients met the inclusion criteria, with 15 (47%) being injured by plant material. Thirty of the patients were men (94%). A large portion of patients presented with hand motion or worse vision (48%), and there were high rates of hyphema (59%), vitreous hemorrhage (31%), retinal detachment (28%), and endophthalmitis (9%). Two patients eventually required enucleation. At last follow-up, 19 patients achieved 20/100 VA or better (59.4%), which correlated with their OTS (P < .001).

Despite the high clinical severity of wood OGIs, the potential for visual recovery remains high. The OTS appropriately assesses the severity of injuries and the likely prognosis in this cohort of patients.